New EDC Toys!

I love getting new toys! I received a few new EDC items over the last few days that definitely are helping to fill out my kit.

If you’re followers of Mike over at The Backyard Pioneer, you’ll remember that he ran a contest towards the end of February where he gave away a Spyderco Endura 4 FFG. I was fortunate enough to be the lucky winner. Mike and I had been trying to get together before the giveaway and figured the ‘handoff’ would be a good reason to meet. Despite home and work duties conspiring against us, we were finally able to meet last weekend. On top of meeting a pretty cool guy, I was able to pick up this wonderful knife. I’ve only been carrying it a week, but I have to say I am starting to fall in love. Razor sharp, super light, tough lock…what’s not to like?

In addition to the knife, I decided it was time to start carrying a multi-tool. My old knife was actually part multi-tool, but it wasn’t a great knife or a great multi-tool. It won points for SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) reduction (one item vs two), but that’s where it ended. Today, the Leatherman Juice S2 Multitool showed up. Not much use yet so far – I’ll do a review in a little bit – but I very much like the fact that it’s not ‘tacticool’ looking. The bright orange color is non-threatening while still be manly enough to carry around.

In addition to the Juice, I picked up two flashlights. The first is a Streamlight Stylus Pro. It’s a nice pencil-sized flashlight that runs off two AAA batteries and puts out about 48 lumens through it’s LED bulb. The clip allows it to sit inconspicuously in my pocket, right next to my knife.

While I was shopping, I noticed it’s little brother, the Streamlight Nano Light. This little guy sits on my key chain and gives me constant access to about 10 lumens. And, at a whopping, 0.36oz, there’s no perceivable increase to my keychain. I haven’t spent much, if any, time with these flashlights but if prior reviews of other users is any indication, I should be quite happy with them. I’ll provide reviews in a little bit once I’ve carried them for a while.

In case anyone is interested, I bought all these items on Amazon.com. I’ve provided links and cost in the table below if you’re interested in grabbing them.